Will it be Sriramulu or BSY?

BELLARY: The voting preference of Muslims, independent candidate B Sriramulu’s rapport with voters and former CM B S Yeddyurappa’s influence on his Lingayat community may well decide the result of Bellary Rural bypoll scheduled for November 30.
The outcome is crucial as it could play a role in deciding not just the fate of the Reddy brothers, but also could change the course of three major political parties -- BJP, Congress and JD (S).
The issue of development highlighted by the BJP, that of bad governance raised by the Congress under Reddy’s rule and the promise of restoring political pride of Bellary made by Sriramulu have failed to cut much ice. Though all major candidates are capable of flaunting their muscle and money power, the key here is the caste divide. So far, no party has been able to bridge this gap. This is likely to affect the prospects of the candidates.
With Yeddyurappa taking charge of the BJP’s political campaign, the party hopes it’ll tilt the crucial caste equation in favour of Gadi Lingappa as Lingayats form 14% of the 1.72-lakh electorate.
``The campaign of seeking an apology for encouraging Reddys is going down well. BJP has a firm vote bank in every constituency. If it was a head on collision between two, the result would have been unpredictable, but now it is a triangular fight. It’s working in our favour,’’ said state BJP chief K S Eshwarappa.
With Bellary Rural being a Scheduled Tribe reserved constituency, Sriramulu is hoping his rapport with the electorate and support of sizeable ST community will help his cause.
``Sriramulu’s popularity and his development initiatives assures his victory. Sriramulu isn’t the leader of only his Valmiki Nayak community. People from all communities support him, especially Muslims and SCs and even Lingayats.,’’ said Mrutunjaya Jinaga, a BJP MLC who is backing Sriramulu.
Congress hopes the majority Muslim voters (40,000) will come to the rescue of its candidate B Ramaprasad considering the community’s traditional alliance with the party in Bellary.
``There is a sizeable anti-Sriramulu vote fed up of their domination and corruption. The question is who will cash in on this. As there is a feeling among the people that BJP and Sriramulu are two faces of the same coin, and because of the fierce battle between the two, the Congress does have a clear edge and may emerge a winner,’’ said S Pannaraj, a local chartered accountant backing Congress.
Though all three contestants claim they’re on the road to victory, it appears that, as of now, Sriramulu may just have a slight edge.